Wow...

Something really insane happened at the Transportation Committee meeting tonight when the Mayor showed up to have a word with the members. 

I won't get into the details here yet out of respect and the Mayor's request that we keep it confidential until she has had a chance to speak to the members of all of the other Committees of Council as well as the Transportation Committee members that weren't there tonight. 

I'll just say that the mood and energy of the committee up to that point tonight came crashing down to nothing. 

Plus, I really didn't care what we talked about after that anyway because it is now clear that the Village clearly places a value of zero on what the public members of its committees contribute or say. 

I suppose it could be a control thing too. That is probably a very large part of what is about to go down. 

Anyway, there will be first and second reading of the Village bylaw amendment soon and the third and final reading will follow the month afterwards. 

My biggest fear is that the Village business and expertise is about to be drastically changed and not for the better. 

What some people may see as a savings of time and money will end up costing much much more in the long run. Shortsightedness is a constant trait in many groups and organizations that I have been a part of throughout my life. 

Too many little bean counters want their little piles of beans to look wonderful when someone comes by to see it. 

There is no regard or consideration for what is sacrificed from other crucial bean piles to get their piles so lovely but they usually don't care. 

Plus, these beaners HATE when someone comes by and tries to tell them what to do with those beans and suggest ways to use the beans wisely. 

So the beaners shut them out and have the well meaning folks taken out of the equation with everything within their power. 

I'm glad that I've met several beaners that genuinely appreciate input and find ways to listen and implement suggestions that come their way. 

But the Village looks like it's not going to be one of the good ones. 

And that's a shame. 

It's looking more and more like I may have to take another stab at that Council thing sooner than later to see just what the hell is going on in there. 

If the people will take me. 

We have a while to talk about that though. 

For now I'll just get kicked around along with the other members. 

Stay well,

Tim

My Farewell to New Maryland Council (The Mooning)

This is another long one so pour a coffee and get comfortable before reading it.
I know several people that are going to be disappointed when they read this that it is not quite what they expected but I would like to point out that I am considering an attempt for a Council position in the future.
Of course that is a long way off and many things can change by then but I don't want to burn bridges regardless.

Last night was my last formal New Maryland Council meeting as a Councillor (for now anyway). Prior to the meeting I was under the impression that I would be required to be at the June Council in Committee meeting so I figured that I still had two meetings to go.
However, during the meeting last night Council decided that the swearing-in ceremony would take place prior to the June CIC so last night was officially my last meeting. That sounded just perfect to me.
It's funny that I had been looking to this moment so much but when it was finally upon me I started to feel a little sad.
When I think back over the four years of my term there were so many events and emotions that had taken place. I may not have enjoyed them all but they certainly have been memorable.
Try thinking back to something that you did four years ago and see how long ago it feels like.
Even when I was away somewhere on vacation or otherwise it was often somewhere in my head that I was a Councillor with work to do.
You may recall that in 2008 as I was sitting at my mother's bedside in Ontario just prior to her passing I used some of this time to send a detailed letter to Council from my Blackberry.
It was a full-time job really. If people wanted to reach me they would send emails to me or call me at home. There was no such thing as office hours.

But, as trying and frustrating as being a Councillor may be at times there will always be something inside me that loved the experience.
I'm thinking that part of it is the satisfaction that what we did or tried to do was in some way making our Village a better place.

Before I go further I want to mention that the election results from Monday night were exactly what I was hoping for.
The Councillors that have served with me, Scott Sparks, Gisele McCaie-Burke, and Paul LeBlanc were all re-elected. I am very pleased with this. Our Mayor Frank Dunn had decided not to seek another term as Mayor and ran for a Council seat instead. He was successful. I am pleased with this as well.
It was mentioned to me that the election results were a good indicator that the voters were satisfied with Council and the job that we were doing.
The exception to this are the residents of Baker Brook Court who will likely never be satisfied at anything no matter how much is given to them on a platter.
I was saddened to hear that a couple of the incumbent Council candidates placed campaign signs on Village property near the entrance to Baker Brook Court only to have these signs disappear within a few hours.
If the person(s) responsible for this ever happen to stumble onto this blog I want to point out that no matter how much you loathe somebody, removing a campaign sign from public property is against the law.
Smarten up and grow up. Get over it.

The Deputy Mayor Judy Wilson-Shee ran for Mayor and was acclaimed as no-one ran against her.

A chap by the name of Peter Wiggins was elected and will likely be sitting in my old seat in Council chambers.
Peter has been on the Recreation Committee with me for a while now and has prior municipal Council experience from where he used to live. He's a smart, likable guy and I know he'll do well. I was rooting for him in the election.

None of the candidates that I referred to in my last blog post were successful but I'm sure that they gained a fair amount of insight during their campaigning.

All righty. Back to last night.

Usually when I'm going to a meeting I have dressed fairly casual. Usually blue jeans and a fairly nice shirt.
Scott always wears a suit but I think that's usually because he doesn't have much time between his day job and the Council meetings so he doesn't get changed.
Paul usually wears blue jeans which was a perfect idea to me so I usually did as well.

While I was getting dressed for last night I decided to wear a dress shirt with a tie and beige pants with dress shoes. I figured that I should look nice for the last big meeting.

Part of this was also that I was hoping that some media may be present when I read my finale that I had planned. I should look nice for that, shouldn't I?

Sadly, the media never did show up. We've sort of gotten used to that in New Maryland. It's nice when someone does show up but it's usually because there is a hot topic on the agenda and there will probably be someone there who is ticked off about it.
No matter.

I guess I should have spotted it prior to the meeting but there was something on the agenda right near the end of the meeting. It was a presentation by Mayor Dunn and the CAO Cynthia Geldart.
This didn't initially get my attention. From what I could recall when someone had been leaving a Council position there was something special for them but I thought that it took place later than this after they had left the spot.

It turned out that the special presentation did involve me and during the meeting my wife and two handsome lads came into the Public Gallery to be there for it. Yes, I was surprised. :)

What I didn't realize was that they were in the hallway for a while and heard me when I gave my final Committee report and farewell.

Now, about that report and my farewell.

For regular sessions of Council each Councillor provides an update and report of what transpired at the committee meeting that they chaired. If there were any motions coming from a committee they were read following the committee report being read and moved, seconded and approved by a majority vote. (This sounds like much hoohaw but it's really a very smooth process).

Here's something really cool. Usually the seconder of a motion will be any member of Council except the person who made the motion. It's really just who happens to say it first.
Last night before the meeting I suggested to the others that I will second every single motion of the night except for my report which I was moving. As the meeting went on my family and the others in the public gallery caught on to what was going on and it was pretty amusing.
I'm looking forward to seeing the final minutes of the meeting with my name seconding everything.

I was somewhat nervous as my turn got closer. This was my big one. The last one is the one people usually remember right? I think much of being nervous was worrying that I wouldn't choke up while reading. I had heard a clip on the radio of my pal Jordan Graham doing his farewell at Fredericton Council the night before. He really had a hard time getting through it.

When it came my turn I read my summary of the Transportation meeting of the week before.

Then I read this:

"I’d just like to say a couple of words as this is my last formal session as a New Maryland Councillor.
First, I salute the Village staff for all of their hard work and for putting up with me for the last 4 years. Especially Cynthia for being my brain when my own wasn’t keeping up with the task at times.
I also thank my fellow committee members for caring enough about the Village to dedicate their personal time.
As I have mentioned in the past, I would like to continue as a member of committees as a public member.
To my fellow Councillors and Mayor Dunn, the last 4 years have been much more educational than I expected them to be. Thank you all for being such a great team and making the lessons go smoothly.
Congratulations to you all for being re-elected, to our incoming mayor Judy Wilson-Shee and to Peter Wiggins for his victory.
I wish you all nothing but the best of luck for the next 4 years.
Also, congratulations to the other candidates for all of their hard work and efforts.
I have learned that even though our group has a diverse background, we all have the best interests of New Maryland at heart which is all that matters."

This next part was fun. Here comes the moon.:

"I am now going to do something that several of my Twitter followers and Facebook friends have told me to do. I am mooning you all."

And held this up.

Everyone got a good chuckle out of that.
Then I continued. This is where I choked up but I got through.

"The reason for this choice is that the moon is like us.
For years it was struck by objects which left all of these craters and marks. This was due to no fault of its own except that it was where it was at the time.
As members of Council, over the years we have also taken numerous hits. Some justified. Some unjustified. But we took them for the simple reason that this is where we are at this time.
Our craters aren’t visible like those on the moon but some impacts do leave marks on us.
However, just like the moon, we have continued in our orbits and stayed on the paths that we have chosen to be on. And for that I am proud to have been a part of this group.
And with that I move acceptance of my final report."

And that was that. It felt good to be done but sad at the same time.

When the reports were finished Mayor Dunn stood up to the podium and read this. I could see that Cheryl was a little teary and I was feeling it too:

"As many of you know, Councillor Tim Scammell decided not to re-offer in the recent municipal election, and therefore tonight will be Tim's last official Council meeting as an elected official.

On behalf of my collegues and Village staff, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tim for his hard work and dedication while serving as Councillor for the past four years.

Tim was elected to Council in 2008 and during his term has served as Chairperson of the Water & Wastewater Committee and the Transportation Committee, as well as Vice-Chair of the Recreation Committee, and a member of the Community Council of Policing Committee. He was an active participant in our development strategy, strategic planning, the Sidewalk Installation Plan, and the establishment of the Trails and Bikeways Master Plan currently under review. Tim has worked hard on behalf of our residents and the Village benefited from his experience and expertise. He always represented the Village with professionalism and enthusiasm. Tim also brought a great sense of humor to our meetings which helped provide a positive and creative work environment.

We are definitely going to miss having Tim around the Council table. However, we understand the dedication to his family. His family is extremely busy right now with his twin sons being involved in various activities and groups. Due to the time commitment required of a council member, Tim has missed a number of important events with his family over the past few years, and made the decision to ensure thay are his first priority.

Tim has graciously offered to serve on our various committees as a resident, and we look forward to continuing to work with him and benefit from his knowledge and skills.

It gives me great pleasure to present a small token of our thanks and gratitude to Councillor Tim Scammell."

Mayor Dunn then presented me with a gift box from Aitken's Pewter containing this awesome desk clock.

The inscription says "Tim Scammell, Councillor, Village of New Maryland, 2008-2012".
What a wonderful gesture.

Mayor Dunn was also presented with a gift for his years of service as the Mayor.

It was a great evening.
I'm going to miss those folks.
Four years may creep up quickly and it will again be time to decide what I'd like to do and what would be best for my family.

What am I going to do until then with all of my spare time?

Not to worry. I'll be around.

Stay well,
Tim

Wait! What Summer?

I can't believe it.
When we were driving home from Moncton the other day I glanced over at some trees near the highway and saw a whole lot of leaves that were already changing colour.

For crying out loud. There are still 2 weeks left in August! The boys are still on summer vacation.

I have to say that this summer has been one of the more disappointing ones in terms of the weather.
The sun would be out on days that we had nothing in particular going on but many days that the boys had a baseball game the rain would blast down and ruin everything.

What's worse is that on a few occasions it rained like crazy in the morning and stopped by midday.
By then it was too late to try and prepare the ball field for a game that night even if it could dry out enough to play a game.

Last night was supposed to be their last regular season game before the end of year tournament this weekend. But, it poured rain yesterday morning and the game was cancelled.
That sucks. We have all been very disappointed when this has happened.

As you know, we love our baseball and I REALLY look forward to watching my guys play.
On top of this, there were 2 games that we were supposed to play that were cancelled because they couldn't find an umpire!
How sad is that?

I'm ashamed to say this but there were a couple of times that I had to leave when the game was in progress in order to be at Council related meetings.

In fact, do you recall my last post? The one about that idiot spouting off at Council about what he felt was the right way to build a road?

That was one of those nights that I had left the boys' ball game to be at that meeting.

I didn't mention this in the last post but what was going through my head when that goof was talking (apart from wanting to tell him where the door was, and for him to use it right away) was that I was sitting there listening to that rubbish while my sons were playing baseball.
And that really ticked me off. The straw that broke the camel's back and provided me with some clarity, if you will.

I guess I'm mentioning this so that the blog I will be posting in the near future won't come as a real surprise to anyone reading it.
A couple of people already know what's coming but I'll leave it at that for now.

For now I'm going to cross my fingers that the weather decides to be nice to us this weekend so that we can at least have a decent conclusion to the lads' ball season.

Stay well,
Tim

The future? What about it?

Immediately following the municipal elections in 2008 I received a message from a friend congratulating me on being elected onto New Maryland Council.

In it, she said something which I had not thought about until then.

"Congratulations on becoming one of the very few members of society chosen to lead it".

Lead it? Wow. I guess so.

She was right with some of what she said but maybe not all.

The population of the Village of New Maryland is roughly 4500 people.
Village Council consists of 5 Councillors and 1 mayor. That equates to about 900 residents for each Councillor. However, our Council is at large so 5 Councillors for 4500 residents is a more fitting way of looking at it.

The province of New Brunswick has a population of approximately 750,000. The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is made up of 55 elected MLAs of which the Premier is included as he has his own riding.
That's 55 people to govern roughly 750,000.

The Federal Parliament consists of 308 Members of Parliament each representing their own electoral districts across the country. The Prime Minister of Canada also has a riding of his own.
Each of the federal ridings vary in size but generally there are 308 individuals elected to serve an estimated 34,000,000 people, give or take a few hundred thousand.

In summary, there are 5 of us for 4500 people in New Maryland, 55 MLAs for about 750,000 people in New Brunswick and 308 MPs for roughly 34,000,000 people in Canada.

Looking at it, it's true that there really are only a few people that are elected to govern the entire population, isn't it?
I realize that the Minicipal level isn't the same as the Federal one but we are all paid to serve those that have elected us.

This is why I agree with the part of the statement "few members of society chosen".

What I have some question with is the "to lead it" part.
Are we really the leaders?
Do the voters look at the candidates and think "I want that person to lead us" or do they say "I want that person to represent my interests" and think that they can do it better than the other candidates who are not elected?

My thinking is that I am not someone standing in front of a group heading in a direction with the Village citizens behind me. I agree that is a component of much of what we do as a Council.

I think a better way of seeing our position is of standing in the middle of a large circle with comments, instructions and wishes coming into the center from all points of the circle.
Then we are to take what we have gathered and go to a smaller circle (in my case 5 and 1 mayor) and ensure that what we have heard is relayed to the others and reasonably acted upon.

The word "reasonable" plays a very large role here. There have been several occasions where I may not have agreed with something that has been brought to Council but have seen that it is reasonable.
In other cases there have been things so bizarre that have come up which have left me shaking my head.
I'm not going to tell you any details of what things I have placed into what category so don't even bother asking.

But it is surprising at the frequency of which the bizarre things do come up.
Sometimes I have felt irritation that an item that I have felt is just stupid has been discussed.
Regular Council meetings are once a month for a few hours and the "Council-in-Committee" meetings are also once a month.
If we have to spend meeting time talking about frivilous items then time is taken away from other topics right? Perhaps.
But you know what? That item has as much right to be considered as any other even if only one solitary person wants it to be.

I said it a long time ago in this blog but no matter how strange something may seem to the rest of us the fact is that one person's reality is just as important and real to them as ours is to us.
That person is a person and has a vote and a voice like the rest of us.

I can say without a doubt that becoming a Councillor has given me far more education than I could have imagined.

Sometimes we have dealt with things that are so time-consuming and involved that my head hurt.
On occasion Council has made a decision that I felt so good about and strongly for that I could never imagine that anyone could take issue with it. Then the matter has gone south leaving me bewildered that it wasn't loved by all.

I am fortunate that my engineering background helps give me a basic understanding of how a water system operates or how a paving operation works. On our committees we go into great detail with these topics and others on a regular basis.
Imagine how a Councillor feels when they have to learn about this stuff from the start in order to keep up!

This is far more education than most schools can offer us.

I've told my MLA friends how jealous I am that they are able to do what they do on a full time basis while we Councillors have to hold day jobs to survive.
I say this jokingly but do think that the whole political thing would be a wee bit more enjoyable if I could focus on it entirely.

The downside of the MLA or MP position is that they have to devote all of their time and resources seeking the nomination of the party in a riding THEN have to do more to get elected by the people.

If they are not successful they have to find another job. Also, even if they are elected there is always a possibility that the next election will see them beaten and unemployed.

For me campaigning is a matter of knocking on doors and talking to all of the residents, getting several campaign signs up and a flyer in every mail box.
Then hope that the people like me enough to choose me.

In 2004 I ran for a position on Council and didn't succeed.
It was upsetting but not the end of the world. I still had a regular job.



The reason for this post is that the next municipal election is just over a year away. I have been on Council almost 3 years now.
That year is going to fly by just as the last 3 have so I had better make sure that things are in order and my next campaign is ready when the time comes.

Anything can happen in the next year but I'm quite certain that I will be running again.

Admittedly, being a Councillor has its trying times but I truly feel that I am doing what I can to make a piece of the world the best it can be for the residents, our kids, myself and the future.

That makes it all worthwhile.

Stay well,
Tim

On the roads again...

This isn't a big one.
It's also not very interesting to 99.9% of the people who read this or happen to stumble upon it.
Regardless, I just wanted to tell you about something that I'm happy about.

As of tomorrow (October 1, 2010) I am no longer the Chair of the Village of New Maryland Water and Wastewater Committee.
I am taking the helm of the Village's Transportation Committee.
Several weeks ago the Mayor announced that the Chairs of all the Village's Committees were changing.
Except for the Planning Advisory Committee. The Chair of that is a member of the public. This is dictated by the Municipalities Act. This Chair will remain in place but the Co-chair, who is a Councillor, is changing.
I am Co-Chair of the Recreation Committee and will remain in that position.
The Recreation Chair is changing from Deputy Mayor Judy Wilson-Shee to Councillor Scott Sparks.
Scott also happens to be continuing as Co-Chair of Transportation so we'll be spending a fair bit of time together. :)


It really didn't strike me until the end of the Water Wastewater meeting last night just how long I've been involved in that committee.
When I told the committee about the changes Bill O'Donnell pointed out that this committee was where I had started.
You see, I haven't merely been on it since being elected onto Council in 2007 but since immediately after the election in 2003.


In case you're not aware of this I ran for a Council position in 2003 but was unsuccessful. I still wanted to become involved in municipal affairs so I approached the Mayor and offered to join the Water and Wastewater Committee as a public member.
Prior to this the committee consisted solely of members of Council but it was decided that the committee would open up to public members.
I felt that my background in Civil Engineering would be an asset to the committee.
So there I was as one of the first public members.
Coincidentally, at that time Bill O'Donnell was a Councillor and chaired the committee.
He was unsuccessful in his re-election bid but accepted the invitation to re-join the committee as a public member. He and I just switched spots.

When I was elected the Mayor put me into the Chair's position even though I really wanted to join the Transportation Committee.
Thankfully, after 2 years the Mayor has now put me where I asked to be.

Enough of the politics blog stuff for a while.

Now, let's see what this Transportation is all about. :)

Stay well,
Tim

Water you looking at?

Hello again. This one is one of my "political" blogs but it's actually pretty interesting if you stay with me and follow along.
As some of you know the Village Council of New Maryland presented our annual budget Wednesday night in our regular Council meeting at the Village Council chambers.
It was read by Councillor Scott Sparks who chairs the Finance Committee who did a great job. Scott usually does.
The gist of the budgets is to officially provide details publicly of the municipality's capital and operating costs as well the tax rate that will be charged to the residents. Information of the New Maryland budgets is available here http://www.vonm.ca/mayorandcouncil/budget/ . The new budget hasn't been posted yet but will be shortly.
Also included in the budget, which I am directing this blog at, is the rates which will be charged to the Village residents that are connected to the Village water and sanitary sewage system.
This falls under my care as I am the Chair of the Water and Wastewater Committee.
Our committee is charged with the task of beating about figures in order to come up with rates that are fair to the users and are sufficient to cover all operating costs associated with these systems. We are not allowed to operate under a deficit situation.
New Maryland is unique in that not all residents are connected to the municipal water supply.
It's slightly higher than one third of the Village's households that are.
The difficulty that this presents is that any and all costs associated with the water system must be paid by those that are on it and not by the other residents who are still on their own wells. (I am on my own well.)
Over the last couple of years the Village has undertaken the task of installing water meters on the properties connected to the system.
There were a few reasons for doing this but the two major reasons were
1. to provide an incentive for the municipal system users to reduce water consumption and conserve where possible and not be wasteful and
2. to make those users that choose to use excess water pay for doing this.

It's not very fair that a household with one or two people should pay the same amount for their water as a household with ten people in it, is it?
At the end of 2008 the majority of the homes getting meters had them installed.
The Water and Wastewater Committee, Council and Village staff then needed to figure out what amount per cubic metre to charge in order to cover the operating costs of the system and allow those reducing water consumption to realize a savings.
In order to do this we needed to gather historical data of the water consumption and calculate from there.
Unfortunately there was not very much historical data available at the end of 2008 to work with. Even so, we did our best and came up with what we believed would work.
I'm not going to rehash the fun of last year when there were differing opinions of what the rates should be. It was done and we did as well as could be expected.
One would think that by the end of 2009 it would be pretty easy to work out the rate for 2010 with a whole year of data available to us.
Almost easy.
A couple of things arose which we felt needed to be taken into consideration.
What about a household which uses absolutely no water over a certain period of time? An example of this would be residents that travel south during winter months.
Currently the only thing they would be required to pay would be the $5 per quarter fee for the actual meter. (This amount is to reserve funds for replacement of the meter at the end of its lifecycle.) Everyone pays that who has a Village meter.
But what about the costs of the system itself? Even though one household may not use water in a given period the costs to operate the system continue in order for the system to still be there for when this household does use it again.
You have no idea how tricky this process was! There were many things to consider and we knew that whatever we came up with had to be totally fair for those who chose to do their civic duty and conserve water.
I'll make this long story shorter here.
My committee with help from Village staff worked tirelessly through several meetings and worked out an amount to recommend to Council for the 2010 water rate.
There was a little back and forth corresponding between Council and the committee but in the end we did it.
I felt pretty darn good about it too. In my mind I am convinced that the new rate is completely fair and will enable the system to operate soundly.
Those who choose to conserve and reduce water consumption will be rewarded accordingly by realizing a savings in their water bill.
The 2010 water rate was set and announced on Wednesday night as part of the budget. This was followed by a motion presented by me to amend By-law No. 40-01-2009 Water Rates and Sewer Rentals By-law to reflect the new rate. This rate is to take effect on January 1, 2010.

I'd like to detail this just a little.

Prior to the new rate taking effect, users of the municipal water system in New Maryland are being charged $1.60 per cubic metre of water metered. In addition there is a charge of $5 per quarter for the meter itself as I mentioned above.
As of January 1, 2010 the water rate will become $1.30 per cubic metre of water as well as a flat fee of $35 per quarter (to allow for all users to contribute to the system's operating costs).
The charge of $5 per quarter for the meter remains in place.
In reality the new water rate is less than the current one.


I would like to use a scenario to illustrate.


Let's take an example of a household which which uses 250 cubic metres of water in a quarter (three month period).

At the present rate of $1.60 this household will pay:


250 cubic metres @ $1.60 equals $400. Adding the $5 meter fee and their charge in this quarter is $405.


The same household at the new rate of $1.30 and $35 per quarter flat fee will pay:

250 cubic metres @ $1.30 is $325. Adding the $35 flat fee and $5 meter fee this works out to a total of $365 in this quarter.

To summarize, $405 based on the current rate and $325 at the new rate as of January 1, 2010.


I am very happy with this. I was very happy with this on Wednesday night.
In my entire time as a Councillor I have never come out of a Council meeting feeling so positive and convinced that we had done a top notch job for the residents.
I truly felt great.

I'm thinking that perhaps it also had something to do with the fact that I had decided to dress nicely in my suit and festive Christmas tie for the meeting. Perhaps by dressing nicely I subconsciously created a positive vibe within me?

It was a good night.

Yesterday morning I read the Daily Gleaner article by Shawn Berry covering our budget. It's at http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/892787 and as you'll see Mr. Berry has done the professional job I have come to expect from him.
He interviewed Councillor Sparks immediately after the budget was presented and gathered additional facts and opinions right away to complement the details he already had.
This is why I have come to really admire Shawn and the work he does.


As I drove to work I listened to the news on the radio. The report spoke of the Village's new tax rate and several other details.
Then he said "residents of the Village will be paying more for water."

For crying out loud...

That's all I'll say about that.

Stay well,

Tim

I don't take "lasts" very well.

Many of us are going through the same thing or similar things everywhere at various levels.
I was surprised to see that some people I know are dealing with this at the grandparent level!
The last couple of weeks has been full of "lasts".
A couple of weeks ago was the last talent show at the school that we would be involved with.
Last week the PSSC (Parent School Support Committee) had our last meeting of the year which also happened to be that last one forever for a couple of us.

I joined the Home and School and the PSSC because I wanted to be there to make a difference in our sons' education.
As with my joining Council, I hoped that my input, whether misguided or not, would make New Maryland Elementary School better not just for our kids but for every single boy and girl that ever walks through those doors.

There were so many meetings and so much stuff discussed at these meetings!
At the end of a long workday there was no way to avoid my eyes glazing over at times.
But I think I did what I had to do.
I think that I made a difference in that place.
And now it's over.

Our little monkey boys have their last day at New Maryland Elementary School tomorrow.

I really don't know how they feel about it.

How did I feel about when I was leaving one school to another? Truthfully I don't think I cared.

I do remember how nervous I was going into the new schools.
The main thing that made it okay for me was that I was going to a bigger school with kids from a bunch of other schools.
I knew a ton of kids from the other schools from Scouting, sports and other things.
Finally I could hang out with them!

But what of poor little NMES?
It's only a stone's throw from our back yard.
We'll always hear the bells go off as we do now.
But the bells won't be ringing for our little guys anymore.

And our little guys aren't those little guys anymore.

In only 6 years they have gone from being so small to growing up so much.

Yesterday we went to the family picnic. Our last at the school.
The principal came over to us sitting on our blanket and told us how proud he was of our guys.

There had been a few issues that had arisen over the past few years. Nothing serious but needing our attention.

Steve came over and told us that our boys had grown up so much and were great.
No more problems.

I can joke and say that he may have just said this since they were not his problem anymore after tomorrow but I know the truth.

These little guys have grown up an awful lot.
I don't like it but that's the way it is.

I will always call them Tiny and Boo even when they are over 6 feet tall and 25 years old.

I don't have to tell you that I have a very difficult time letting go of some things.

There are some things I will never let go of no matter how hard I try.

But I know that I have to let go and accept that these little guys aren't really little guys anymore.

But they'll always be my babies.

Stay well,
Tim


Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

A Little Bit of Housekeeping

I just wanted to mention a couple of things before heading off to Halifax tomorrow.
I am very happy that my tattoos are all done now. They will be wonderful when the healing is done. For now they're a wee bit red and tender but doing very well.
When I went in there I honestly didn't know what Joey was going to do. I was trying to casually press him for details of his intentions.
I wouldn't say he was evasive but seemed to be a tiny bit amused at my concern.
I should have known already to just trust him. He's a professional and takes much pride in his work.
Even though it only took a couple of hours Joey took no chances and cleared his afternoon for me. He fully intended to take his time and make absolutely sure that my tattoos were going to be perfect.
If only everyone was as serious and took this much pride in their work.
This young man could teach the world a lot about work ethic.
The pictures have already been put on my Facebook for my wonderful friends there.
As usual the comments started right away and as usual I feel so much love from my friends who love me.
It was funny. As I was walking back to my car from White Lotus I ran into the world's second best blogger, Charles LeBlanc.
I hadn't seen Charles in person for quite a while and it was great to see my good friend as it always is.
Of everyone I know in this place Charles is one that I would trust with my life to guard my back. I would do the same for him too.
He knows that.

It's funny, the other day I told someone that there are many people that I would give my life for and they may never ever know it.
Charles knows this though. I've told him.

On Tuesday night I received a copy. Of the Water and Wastewater Committee meeting minutes from the last meeting.
There was something unusual about them.
At the top where it says who was at the meeting it had the mayor's name with Chairman beside it, Councillor Paul Co-Chair and my name with Chairman beside it!
Wow! Was I being promoted? What a lovely surprise! And my birthday isn't until June.
At the Council meeting last night the mayor have the water and Wastewater committee report.
Before accepting the report and voting on it the Deputy Mayor pointed out that it said Chairman beside my name.
I was so excited that the mayor was going to make the big announcement that I was going to be a real Councillor again!
But I'm afraid it was a typographical error...
The person typing it had not been feeling well and was obviously delirious when she put that there. Everyone made sure that was duly noted to fix right away!

I think I was already a little grumpy already last night anyway.
Earlier I had spoken my mind about something and my feelings of manipulation by someone who wants so badly to get their way that they will make the rest of Council appear as heartless by not supporting their motion.
If anything I hope that the grumpiness got the point across that I'm not in the mood for that and won't put up with it anymore.
It was fun really.
I felt pretty good afterwards.
I think I really need to get a punching bag.

Have a great weekend.
I love you all and some a little more than the others.

Stay well,
Tim


Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Re: Agenda for Dec. 30th Special Session

I am not prepared to write a long blog right now since I am still with my Mom in the hospice in Ontario.
She is still giving a fight.
I do want to show you a letter I send to Council last night though.
This had been bothering me and I was relieved to get it off my chest. For those not familiar with this topic I will try and post a link to the article later.
I may be reprimanded when I get back, especially if anyone actually finds out that I put this on my blog.
From Mayor Dunn's reply today I understand the vote is going to proceed without me.
I am not pleased about this and know that at least two of the other Councillors are not either.
This will be interesting but is not of great concern to me at this time.

Mom is continuing to battle bravely but is so tired.
She has been asleep for almost three days and hasn't eaten or drank anything.
I stay here holding her hand and tell her it's okay to let go now but her body doesn't want to yet.
I haven't left this building since Christmas day or this room except to shower or eat.
Sleep has been very unusual since I wake up at least every hour to make sure she is still breathing.
I've lost track of the days and if it weren't for the clocks you could tell me any time and I would believe you.
There will be plenty of time for sleep later.
My Mom doesn't want to leave yet so I'm not going anywhere until she decides that it's time.

Tim

------Original Message------
To: Gisele McCaie-Burke
To: 'Cynthia Geldart'
To: Frank Dunn
To: Judy Wilson-Shee
To: Frank Dunn
To: Paul Leblanc
To: Scott Sparks
Subject: Re: Agenda for Dec. 30th Special Session
Sent: Dec 28, 2008 1:42 AM

Good evening everyone. As some of you know I am presently in Ontario with my mother to be with her for her remaining time in life.
She has been deteriorating as I have sat here with her and I don't expect her to last too much longer.
However, my sister was also a fighter and stood her ground for a good amount of time before succumbing.
I may or may not make it back in time for the December 30th meeting but either way we are going to have an issue with 40-01-2008 Bylaw reading.
If Your Worship wishes I can present the following personally at the next meeting I am in attendance but this is also for you all to read.
Last week I received a call from a resident who also lives on Phillips Drive. She had a question to ask me but also wanted to express her displeasure at what I am doing with the water and sewer rates.
Please note that her displeasure was directed at me personally because I am the Chair of the Water and Wastewater Committee.
She did not wish to direct her anger at the Council but to me personally.
She said that she voted for me because she trusted that I would be working for those who elected me and now she sees that I don't care about residents with fixed incomes or financial difficulties.
I tried to explain to her how we were calculating the water rate and that we were working to lessen the impact of a loan for the future water tower.
She did not seem to even want to hear it but remained focused on something that I am doing to affect residents of the Village which will have a great impact.
It occurred to me afterwards right or wrong this lady had a valid point.
What right do I have to make a push for something that will affect so many of the residents but not myself?
If my name is to be attached to something as far reaching as this then it should be something which involves me too.
Otherwise I don't feel that I have the right.
That is my feeling on that.
The day following the election I personally attended the Mayor's home with only one pleading request, that I please don't be given the Water and Wastewater Committee chair position.
I was completely willing to be co-chair of the committee but I made it completely clear that I was not comfortable with taking the chair role.
Even though I had been a member of the committee for four years I did not feel qualified and correctly realized that there was some information that I would not be fully aware of in a public member capacity.
For some reason my request was disregarded and I was given the exact position I had asked not to have.
Up to this point in time I have been a trooper and have done my best with things I do not claim to be an expert in.
I am not going to do this any more.
It has been suggested to me that with the meters and the tower was also to come much protest from the residents. It was suggested to me that who better to have the displeasure and protest aimed at but the new guy on Council? What a perfect way to assure that he does not stand a chance at reelection? The difficult items are sent through and the new guy will be disposed of come next election.
Of course I scoffed at this theory as conspiracy minded.
The problem that we are going to have with 40-01-2008 Bylaw reading is how am I to be the one reading it when I am now planning to vote against it?
I feel that the water tower project and water meters have been pushed by others and I have been along for the ride.
I expressed my displeasure at the financial burden on the residents quite a while ago and never felt that displeasure went away.
When Deputy Mayor Wilson-Shee presented her disagreement with the figures I felt distraught as I felt that we had done so much number crunching and figuring based on data and statistics that we HAD to be right. It had taken so much work.
I now agree with our deputy mayor fully.
I realize that we as Councillors hope to present a united front to the public as far as our decisions are concerned but I feel that if the Village Deputy Mayor is able to publicly voice her displeasure with what is occurring on Council then I am permitted to do so as well.
I do not feel that I have been treated fairly and I am prepared to express these feelings publicly before my public image is completely destroyed.

Now if you will excuse me, I am going back to holding my mother's hand and watching her breathe.

Tim